75 Godiva Street, Sunday evening

[vdistinctive]

Eliot wasn't sure who had first started using the term for the occasions when the whole team got together for a friendly meal, instead of eating during a meeting for a job, but somewhere along the lines, "family dinner" had become official. With Nate and Sophie on the island, that was just what the team was doing now, with Eliot putting the finishing touches on his spaghetti sauce (one of the few dishes they all could agree on), Hardison and Parker grabbing dishes and napkins to set the table, and Val skipping about excitedly underfoot, all of them moving easily in and around each other with the ease of long practice.

Nate stood in the doorway with a beer and watched the process with a small smile.

"I take it Hardison bought your home out from under you, too?" he asked when he managed a moment with Eliot alone. The look on Eliot's face wasn't entirely quantifiable. It contained rather a lot of fond amusement, though.

"Sure," he said. "Somethin' like that.

[ooc: for the teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeam!]

Comments

[andiamathief.livejournal.com]

Nate held up his hands. "Now -- now I wasn't -- my concern is --"

Yeah, he was being an asshole.

"The three of you were angry at us when we started sleeping together!"

No, the three of them had been angry that Nate and Sophie had kept it a secret.

[thenameislara.livejournal.com]

"And then they stopped being angry at us when we admitted to what we were doing." Honestly. Sophie shook her head, embarrassed for him. "He said it to buy himself time, Parker, but excellent analysis of why he asked."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

"All of the above," Parker agreed, then shrugged and went back to her pasta.

Yeah, Eliot had already given her answer, and Nate could take a while waffling about this.

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"Yeah, yo. You don't lie to your crew," Hardison reminded. And then before Eliot could say anything-- "Plan E wasn't a con, yo. We were workin' towards somethin'. Hush."

[vdistinctive]

"Say it all you want, but it was still damn stupid." Eliot shook his head. "We gonna have a problem here, Nate?"

He considered Nate his best friend, but most of that was because he outright refused to put up with Nate's bullshit.

[andiamathief.livejournal.com]

Nate studied the three of them again, his internal sputtering finally beginning to die down. He raised his glass. "No. No we're not." He downed the glass and smiled. "Suppose it's about time, anyway."

[thenameislara.livejournal.com]

"You are unbelievable." Said with a great deal of love but total acknowledgment of Nate's cat-like I-meant-to-do-that reflexes. And then a quick kiss, because Positive Reinforcement would always be a thing between them.

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker snickered and put one leg across Hardison's lap so her foot was on Eliot's leg. "You could say that." About how long it took you to catch on, jeez, Nate. She grinned at her guys. "So, you got Sophie's ring picked out yet?"

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"An', like dates an' details about the wedding?" Hardison agreed. "We need to make sure our calendar stays open for it."

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah, man. And apparently I gotta plan a cake."

[andiamathief.livejournal.com]

"We're, uh. We're working on it." Nate looked over at Sophie. "Perhaps something in the spring."

[thenameislara.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps." Perhaps Sophie would even let her real name go on the license too. You never knew. "We'll let you know, when we know."

She lifted her glass, leaning into Nate. "In the meantime: to new homes."

[whoisalicewhite.livejournal.com]

Parker lifted her glass, smiling at Nate, then Sophie. "To family."

[geniuswithasmartphone]

"To new experiences that teach you more about who you are," Hardison said, his glass in the air.

[vdistinctive]

"To --" Eliot began, his beer raised, but was interrupted by Val, who popped up to rest her front paws on the table and barked, sniffing for the spaghetti. "Dammit, Val, down."

[andiamathief.livejournal.com]

"To all of us," Nate said, lifting his (recently refilled) glass in one hand and reaching over to fluff Val's ears with the other. "We may change shape, but we're still a team."

[vdistinctive]

"Mm. Speakin' of." Eliot grinned. "We got pictures of when we were turned into women, right?"